The Importance of Real Time Notifications for Music Festival Organisers.

Advances in technology in recent years have enabled devices to be always on with real time notifications being a key part of this. Equally the expectations of businesses and the public has risen where real time notifications are the norm. How can festival organisers manage their real time notifications to meet the expectations of anyone that interacts with them.

Music festivals are increasingly complex events with many moving parts which are all subject to dynamic changes. This fast-paced environment makes the use of real time notifications essential for seamless operations, festival-goer safety and an enhanced experience. Having the right technology in place is a key factor in managing real time notifications. How can festival organisers manage their real time notifications to ensure a well-run successful event. 

Technology Enablers. 
The implementation of local Wi-Fi towers on remote festival sites has enabled mobile devices to be always connected making real time notification distribution possible to festival-goers and operational staff. Festival organisers are increasingly using event management software solutions like Festival Pro to manage their operational logistics and with built in notification capabilities organisers can quickly distribute key messages. Many music festivals now launch dedicated festival Apps which are used by festival-goers to navigate a festival site and are an excellent tool used by organisers to distribute key messages. 

Operations and Logistics. 
For an organiser using an event management software solution working with artists, crews, staff, contractors, volunteers, vendors and sponsors it is possible to generate and send notifications to a specific audience. This is useful for running order and schedule changes involving set-ups and sound checks for example. Real time notifications can be used to adjust volunteer and staff shift duties to maximise coverage by location and time. Notifications to vendors and sponsors about changes that may impact their operation on a festival site can ensure continued smooth running. Contractors responsible for power generation or waste management can be notified in real time if there are issues on a site that are impacting the operations of the festival. 

Marketing Support. 
Festival marketing teams can help support sponsors and vendors on site by offering promotional activity using real time notifications (via the festival App) to festival-goers. This may include limited time discounts and offers on subscription to services offered by sponsors. Vendors can utilise the real time notification to inform festival-goers of fresh stock or offers on food and beverages. Organisers can also use real time notifications to sell festival related merch and generate early bird registrations for future events. 

Festival-Goer Safety. 
The safety of everyone on a festival site is always a priority for organisers and real time notifications to festival-goers are an excellent way to inform them of emergencies. This could be a result of issues like fire hazards or terrorist threats where orderly evacuation of a site is required. Missing persons or lost children on a festival site is not unusual and real time notifications can be used to find friends and relatives along with instructions on locations to report to. If there is crowd congestion at entry/exit gates real time notifications can be used to direct festival-goers away from crowded environments and to use alternative gates for example. 

Festival-Goer Experience. 
Where a dedicated festival App is used the majority of festival-goers will have the App on their device. Notifications can be used to keep everyone up to date on artist set time or schedule changes and announcing any additional special guest appearances for example. If there is traffic congestion on exist routes away from the festival site at the end of the event real time notifications can be used to inform festival-goers along with possible alternative routes or suggesting they delay departure. 

For festival organisers planning their next events using a software management platform like Festival Pro gives them all the functionality they need manage every aspect of their event logistics. The guys who are responsible for this software have been in the front line of event management for many years and the features are built from that experience and are performance artists themselves. The Festival Pro platform is easy to use and has comprehensive features with specific modules for managing artists, contractors, venues/stages, vendors, volunteers, sponsors, guestlists, ticketing, site planning, cashless payments and contactless ordering.

Image by flutie8211 via Pixabay

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